Women are Key to Sustainability

Women's role in adapting to climate change in the Phetchabun-Loei mountain range

Learn from a world of rapid change and technology

Women generally motivate themselves to get better and feel more fulfilled. With an era of boundless classroom came a tremendous opportunity – online activities, onsite workshops and training courses – to learn about anything. It’s a game changer for women living in the Phetchabun-Loei mountain range. They acquire new knowledge and gain more experience to adjust productivity and preserve the ecosystem services that are being threatened by a years-long monocropping.

Women’s groups in Ban Thung Thoeng, Ban Pong sub-district, Dan Sai district of Loei province set a good example of reinforcing perceptions and actions that originated from the roles of women. The women are keen to improve their knowledge to be able to adapt to climate change that directly poses a great threat to food production. Because of their ability to pay close attention to small detail, they’re quick to pinpoint the problems and seek ways to solve them.

A great attention to details and care for those around them made Women’s groups in Ban Thung Thoeng turn their focus to safer crop production methods. “We planted monocultures, especially cauliflower and maize, which had badly damaged our health. With heavy use of farm chemicals, we thought of our grandchildren who left home to live in larger cities. They would eat these vegetables. We acquired more knowledge to sell chemical-free produce, so we can breathe a sigh of relief,” said Ms. Metta.

Due to their closeness with younger generations, women can easily transfer the best practices, a way of life, culture and communication technologies to children and young people in communities, especially their own offspring.

Fruits and vegetables such as durian, banana, wax gourd, melon and pumpkin are planted at one of the farmlands in Ban Thung Thoeng, Ban Pong sub-district, Dan Sai district of Loei province.

Here, the rice water is used as fertilizer for durian trees through leaves.

“I apply fertilizer to the leaves in the morning because the leaves usually take up nutrients at that time. In the evening, I will fertilize the roots,” villagers explain the technique of fertilizing durian trees that are very sensitive to chemicals.

Ms. Metta told she has undergone training programs and watched the videos about making fertilizer and insecticide on YouTube and Facebook. Her efforts reflect reality that the farmers can access technology in pursuit of knowledge whenever they want and apply their knowledge to increase productivity in farms which later lead to success.

While Mr. Sombat and Ms. Lamom Saengrach own a coffee shop on the bank of the Phoong river basin where durian and orange farms are located downstream and clumps of bamboo grow on river banks.

Gender equality created equal opportunities to plan and manage natural resources in order to grow quality and safe produce. It also helps conserve the ecosystem services of the Phoong river basin.

Mr. Sombat and Ms. Lamom have been working side by side to improve their farmlands as a path towards sustainable agriculture. The involvement of both female and male farmers strengthens agricultural management and paves the way forward for the farmland to become a tourist attraction in the near future.

Their sustainable farming practices and tremendous efforts to preserve the Phoong river basin have become an ecotourism model where other villagers and tourists can capture the stunning natural scenery while learning about ecosystem restoration.

“We planted monocultures, especially cauliflower and maize, which had badly damaged our health. With heavy use of farm chemicals, we thought of our grandchildren who left home to live in larger cities. They would eat these vegetables. We acquired more knowledge to sell chemical-free produce, so we can breathe a sigh of relief" ... Ms. Metta

The Impacts of Ecological Changes

Farmlands are seen stretching hundred meters along the Mekong river in Chiang Khan district of Loei province. Local farmers have planted seasonal vegetables on the bank of the river for a long time. After the rainy season, the water level usually drops low enough for the farmers to plant vegetables or grow tobacco farms when massive sandbanks emerge.

A variety of beneficial herbs and vegetables such as lettuce, cabbage, coriander, cabbage, broccoli and cauliflower grow well because of the Mekong river’s nutrition-rich sediments during the winter. However, fluctuations of water levels in the Mekong river greatly affect every process of crop production. As sediments and nutrients in the Mekong river sharply dropped, the water itself has turned blue and affected farmlands that lie along the river. The Mekong river's new color has caused hardship for local farmers, especially women, to grow crops and the profits may not be as handsome as before.

A sharp decline in farm products has resulted in shortage of food supplies at home, forcing them to buy more vegetables from markets without knowing whether they’re contaminated with chemical residues.

Thus, women’s groups in Chiang Khan district have been working harder to increase yields in fight against unpredictable water levels of the Mekong river. Farmlands are built on higher ground and a greater variety of vegetables are planted to increase food supplies and generate supplementary income.

Besides revenue from the tourism activities, women’s groups in Chiang Khan district make some extra money by selling locally grown and organic fresh vegetables. The small land plot on the bank of the Mekong river generates more extra cash and bolsters food security among households and communities.

Knowledge Sharing

“Our forest land has been inherited for generations. The ancestors preserved the land for their offspring to benefit from it, not for us to destroy,” Ms. Patch talked about her integrated landscape behind her home where three wells are installed to store rainwater during drought and a small canal run throughs the heart of the forest lands.

Banana, papaya, cocoa and bamboo trees grow tall while a variety of climbing vegetables such as wax gourd, pumpkin, melon, field pumpkin, chili, holy basil and pepper are planted around the land.

“I let villagers make use of the forests and collect wild products such as dioscorea hispida, bamboo shoot and mushroom. I’m totally OK with it. I only ask them not to cut down trees,” she said, adding that natural resources must be managed sustainably.

Restoration of private forest in the Phetchabun-Loei mountain range ensures and boosts main sources of food for the owner as well as nearby communities whose members have smaller forest lands or don’t own any land property at all.

Regulations that have been drawn to control over utilization of resources help enhance cooperation to converse and restore the ecosystem services. The rules also ensure mutual benefits for every community member and prevent one particular person from taking advantage or exploiting others.

Roles of women’s groups in Ban Thung Thoeng in the Phetchabun-Loei mountain range set an example for other communities to strength knowledge and capacity of the members which could result in improved conservation and diversification of the ecosystem services.

“Women play a crucial role at work and home, from cooking to shaping crop production. Women’s empowerment, thus, ensures greater conservation efforts for the ecosystem services.”